


The  life that's in it

by Anonymous



Series: Rosa's medical room adventures [2]
Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Disability, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Secrets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:01:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26855635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Rosa is sick. Nobody knows how sick. Or indeed that she is at all.
Series: Rosa's medical room adventures [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1960543
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17
Collections: Anonymous Fics





	1. Chapter 1

“Stupid fucking agency ‘we’ll get to you when we can’ bullshit.” Rosa grumbles to herself, trying to push herself off the evidence room floor for the 15th time. She tries to remind herself that chances of a nurse being able to sneak into a police precinct and load an obviously injured detective into their car without being noticed and spending the night in jail were slim but it doesn’t help. She could lose her job if she was found like this. That thought powered Rosa on, encouraging her to keep going and push through the nausea and overwhelming syncope, but each time she got up, the shelves of boxes around her would twist into darkness and she’d end up on the floor again.

*

“Rosa, are you in here?”

It felt like hours had passed when someone finally came looking for her. Rosa recognised the voice as Amy, and debated staying silent for a few long moments, but eventually decided that was only going to cause more drama, and spoke up “No. I’m a ghost.”

A forced laugh came from the doorway “Very funny. What are you doing here?-” Amy trailed off as she spotted Rosa’s body lying on the cold concrete of the floor, blood pooling under her head. “Shit! What happened?”

“I fell.” Rosa began, struggling to push herself upright . The world around her was twisting and turning into an incomprehensible blur of shelves and boxes, but she knew to close her eyes and let the swirling darkness take her would be to blow a cover Amy was otherwise buying. 

“Here. Let me help.”

And suddenly there were two gentle hands supporting her weight, pulling her upwards and resting her against a nearby pile of boxes. Okay. Maybe she wasn’t buying it as much as Rosa wanted her to. Taking a deep breath in, she forced her eyes open and grabbed a nearby shelf leg so she could attempt to stand, only to be stopped. 

“Don’t you dare try and stand, detective.” Rosa rolled her eyes, but followed the gentle pressure and let herself sink back against the boxes.“And you’re letting me have a look at that head injury.”

Rosa pulled her head away from Amy’s approaching hand, nearly slamming her head into the wall on the inside of her. “You don’t even have gloves on.”

“I can arrange for officer Deetmore to sit with you while I go retrieve them if you’d prefer?.” Amy’s tone was ice cold but Rosa could still see the concern creeping through her demeanor even through bleary half closed eyes. Sighing, she turned head to the side and let her friend reach towards it again, before thinking better of it. “I probably should put some gloves on, though, just because you don’t know where I’ve been or-”

“There’s a first aid box in my desk.” Amy reached for her radio, but Rosa pushed her hand away “Ask Jake to get it.” 

  
  


Amy frowned, folding her arms across her chest as she sat back on her heels. “Alright, what’s going on?” 

“Nothing.”

“Really? Because I get you’re private, but there’s no reason why I can’t have someone bring down a first aid kit so I can help you. They don’t even have to see you!”

Rosa groaned, looking away from her friend. She knew if she was honest there was a chance her career (and reputation) would stay intact, but every single cell in her body was screaming at her to not to do it. “I’ve Ehlers Danlos.” She blurted out, forcing her eyes open so she could gage Amy’s reaction. Surprise. Confusion. Good enough. “It’s a connective tissue disorder that affects my collagen.I passed out because my feeding tube is being a dick and not working properly, and it’s causing another condition I have to flare. I’m due to have surgery to fix it on my week off next week but clearly my stupid body decided to give up now.” She paused, scrunching her face up and leaning into the shelf as yet another wave of nausea crashed down on her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but if it got out I’d lose my job.”

There was a good few minutes of silence before Amy spoke up. “Why?” She shook her head “I mean why do you think you’ll get fired?” 

“I don’t think. I know.” Rosa sighs. She doesn’t have the energy for this. She just needs Amy to get the first aid kit so she can clean herself up and get home.

“But that’s illegal. You know that right? If you get fired you could take them to-”

“-How many disabled cops do you know?”

“None, but the point still stands. It’s a vio-”

“No. It doesn’t.” Rosa sits up properly, ignoring the fact that her vision was basically gone, and continues, driven by an internal rage while Amy stares at her, bewildered. “Maybe if I was a cis white dude who was hurt in the line of duty or something. But I’m not. I’m a woman, I’m latinx, I’m bisexual, and I’m one bad day away from being ordered to ethier quit or use a wheelchair. I don’t stand a fucking chance of getting an entire commitee of wrinkled old dudes who are still living in the 80s to listen to me.” When she’s met by nothing but silence, Rosa growls and flops back against the boxes. “Go get Jake.”

Amy nods, pulling herself to her feet “Wait here, okay?”

“Not like I’ve much of a fucking choice!” Rosa calls after her, trying to ignore the impending doom building up in her stomach


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy and Jake scheme a plan to get Rosa home. But will she let them help?

Amy returns a few moments later alone but armed with Rosa’s first aid kit. “Jake will be down in five minutes, he’s just finishing up a case.I told him everything, I hope that was okay with you.”

“Yippee.” Rosa drawls as Amy kneels next to her, opening the first aid kit, “We’ve decided we won’t tell anyone, but we’re taking you home, and staying with you for at least 24 hours.”

“You not think that I’d want a say?”

“ We just assumed you won’t want us to call an ambulance,” Amy admits sheepishly, brushing Rosa’s hair aside with a gloved hand and wincing at the sight that greeted her. There had been no outward sign of major injury, but in between the matted tangles of thick bloodied hair, was large and pretty deep cut, still oozing fresh blood. “Oh wow, you’ve really hurt yourself - “ She reaches for a wad of gauze and presses it against the dribbling wound “Fuck, I didn’t realise it was so big.” 

Rosa scoffs softly at that “No shit.” She pauses, “But you were right about the ambulance.” 

“Okay,” Amy begins, getting a large roll of bandage and wrapping it over the wound fiercely “So the most logical step is to take you back to yours.”

“I deal with this bullshit daily. I don’t need your pity and I can look after myself. You can call me an uber and I’ll make my own way home.” 

“Not happening.” Jake says, making both ladies jump as he walks in, and then grins “That was a great entrance line, right? I feel like-”

“Jake!” 

“Right.” Jake says, shaking himself out of any die hard related thoughts “Amy is absolutely right. We’re not leaving you with some random guy while you’re hurt.” 

“Plus you could have a concussion.”

Rosa opens her mouth (a little tricky now she had several layers of bandage wrapped around her head), but her thought pattern entirely changes as she sees the silhouette of the wheelchair Jake is pushing towards her “The fuck is that?”

“A wheelchair. I got it from the downstairs office. They always keep them.” Jake states, looking at Amy in panic. Maybe Rosa hit her head harder than he thought.

“I know that, dummy, I meant what is it doing here?”

“It’s so we can get you home. Clare gave me permission. I mean we’ve got to return it monday but-”

Rosa pulled away from Amy, grabbing a nearby shelf leg and hauling herself onto her knees “Nope. Not happening. I’m getting an uber and going home. No-No fucking way I’m being seen dead in that thing-” She trails off, fingers instinctively tightening around the shelf as syncope consumed her brain, taking her words. She’s too out of it to notice Amy prising them off, pulling her flat and muttering something to Jake.

*

“Okay, coast’s clear, go, go, go!” Jake grinned, gesturing for Amy to wheel a disguised Rosa through the corridor towards the fire exit as she rolled her eyes at her husbands antics.

“Keep your voice down, Jake. Someone’s going to hear us.” 

“Be as loud as you want. This is basically kidnap. I didn’t agree to be taken home.”

“Fine, next time you can stay laid in the evidence room all night.”

“I had friends coming to get me.” 

“I don’t see them here.”

“Fuck off.”

“That’s not a very old woman like thing to say” Jake grinned, only to earn a slap from Rosa. “Ow!” 

“Both of you be quiet.” Amy snapped, pushing Rosa through the fire exit out into the car park. She loved her husband, but she didn’t quite understand how he got through so many active shooter situations alive. 

“Hey Jake! Wait up!”

Jake spun around and gestured for the ladies to get behind the cover of a nearby beam, which they hastily did, just in time to avoid being spotted by Charles. “Hey bud! What you still doing here? I thought everyone went home,” he forced an unnaturally large grin.

“Yeah they did, but I saw you and Amy go into the evidence room together and I just had to ask-”

“-It’s gunna be another question about when we’re going to have kids again, isn’t it?” 

“Are you trying to put a baby in her Jake?”

“Yep. I was right.”

“It’s just that myself and Genevieve, we know this fabulous-”

“Hate to stop you there, but I’m actually in a rush, can we maybe talk about this sometime else, or, you know, never?” Charles went to answer, but just as he did, Jake as he saw Amy scooting forward with Rosa out of the corner of his eye, and quickly grabbed his friend and spun him around so his back was facing them. “In actual fact, why don’t we keep talking?” 

Charles lit up and began splurging all of his (weirdly detailed) knowledge on pregnancy, uterine climates, and whatever else he was rabbiting on about as the ladies bolted towards the car. Jake mhmed through it all, eyes never really leaving the ladies. 

They were almost out of the woods when Charles stopped talking. “Everything alright? You keep staring at your car.”

“Uh…”

Amy shoved Rosa into the backseat footwell, threw a random picnic blanket Jake had left lying around on top of her, slammed the door closed, and made a dive for the wheelchair.

“Oh my God Amy!” Charles cried, having turned around and spotted Amy sitting in the wheelchair “What happened?” 

“She…”

“I hurt my ankle. “Fell over a box in the evidence room.”

Charles turned to Jake, mouth agape in horror “You said you were trying!”

“I-”

“We didn’t want to until we got your advice.” 

“Yeah. Plus, that doesn’t mean we didn’t… you know…” Jake wiggled his eyebrows

“Mhm,” Amy forced a smile “Ankle injuries turn him on.”

“I hear that.” Agreed Charles, holding both hands up “Well, I’ll leave you both to it,” he grinned “But I will see you both in nine months. Remember Amy, no shellfish!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosa proves she is in fact, not fine, Jake argues with a wheelchair, and Amy stands up to a stray first aider

“I don’t need the fucking chair. I already look like a mummy.” Rosa mumbles as she drags herself up onto the seat of her friends very comfortable sudan. She doesn’t know why she suddenly feels so ill again, but she’s determined to at least try to hide it. Amy exchanges a look with Jake, who pulls a face. “Don’t look at me like that; I’m fine.” 

So fine in fact that as soon as stood up she plummeted back down to the ground

*

_ Rosa? Rosa? Can you hear me? Jake I don’t think she’s waking up _

_ I know, It's going to be fine. _

_ How are you the calm one right now? _

_ Shit Ames, look, I think she’s coming around _

_ Rosa? Rosa? Rosa can y _ ou hear me?

Rosa grunted, flickering her tired eyes open and squeezing whoevers hand was in hers.”Imfine.”

*

“This the one?” Jake asked, emerging from Rosa’s building’s doorway armed with a folded blue sheet.

“Yep.” Jake nods and unravels it, shaking it out in the gentle breeze, much to the intrigue of a passerby who stopped a few feet away to stare. “Keep moving, perv.” 

“I don’t think she was being a-”

“Shut it, Peralta.” Jake recoils for a moment, unsure of how he found a semi-conscious woman who was unable to sit up unaided threatening. Amy flashes a bright smile at the stranger “We’ve got the situation under control, ma’am, if you could please move-”

“I’m a first aider.”

Amy turned to look at her husband, who was busying himself with getting the sling laid out over the wheelchair correctly, then at Rosa, who was struggling to lift her head up to glare at the woman. “That’s nice but we don’t need your help right-”

“- I’m not helping. I’m just watching.”

Amy stands up now, blocking the view and encroaching in on the strangers space. “I’m no longer asking. Move along.” Rosa twitches an eyebrow as the woman stalks off. “Thanks.” Amy shrugs, kneeling back down next to Rosa in the most relaxed way she could. “Sleuth sisters forever, am I right?”

“And you’ve ruined it.” 

“Whenever you two are ready, I think I’ve figured this thing out.” Jake calls from where he’d been arguing with the wheelchair.

Rosa turned to Amy “I’m ready when you are, Sarge.”

* * *

Moving has always been the worst bit. From the moment Rosa was sat up her world spun and twisted in such a way it felt like she was going to fall away from her friends and down into the depths of hell, and she couldn’t help but cling to anything within reach in an attempt to stabilize herself. It didn’t work of course, but she couldn’t force herself to let go. Sounds, sights and smells all blurred together, she couldn’t tell where she was, or what she was doing. All she could do in an attempt to reassure herself was squeeze her eyes closed, lean into the warm pressure on her chest, and wait for it to end.


End file.
